Pimp my RG

[Chuck]

I want to modify my RG and turn it into an intense, rocking, heavy metal machine. I'm thinking in the style of EVH and all those other 80s shredders (George Lynch, people like that.)

First of all, the tremolo I want to be very very reliable, I want it to be the best trem I can possibly get at a reasonable enough price,(Basically anything that isn't just outrageous) never go out of tune and not be TOO much of a pain to change strings.

The pickups have already been modded once to this brand called Kent Armstrong, while the pickups are good, they are not as high-gain as I like. Short of getting active pickups, what are the two clearest, high gain humbuckers I can get?

If possible, I want to get a high-pass filter, though it's not really big on my list of stuff to do.

Also, I've been entertaining the thought of getting a Fernandes sustainer, but only if it won't alter the tone in a negative way or just gather dust.

The guitar has already been modded a little, with the finish on the back of the neck being sanded off in favor of something smoother, and, thus, faster.

Any suggestions for the above stuff is great, thanks.

Charles

[bammbamm]

Dimarzio's DP152 (Super 3) is about the highest output pickup they make for guitar, look it up on www.dimarzio.com .
I would say as far as your trem goes, the Edge that comes with your 550 is already a great trem, you maintaining it and keeping it in good working order will keep it reliable and issue free. Check out the setup tutorials on http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm Rich has a good chunk of info to help even the novice obtain great results.
From what I hear, adding a sustainor is going to alter your tone, in that you essentially remove your neck pickup and replace it with the sustainor pickup, which is more of a downgrade IMO. The reason I say this is you get all the fun from the sustainor, but you lose your neck pickup almost altogether. (I think you can use it as a single if I'm not mistaken, but it's far from full use) Consider this mod and read what others have done before going through with it, it is time and $ consuming.

What kind of amp are you using? The amp has as much to do with your tone as anything else.

[Chuck]

I have this RGT thing with a Edge III. I don't like the Edge III.

[screamndemon69]

That must be an RGT42dx you are talking about. In that mahogany body I would use a Seymour JB or the Super 3 like bamm said and a PAF Pro in the neck with either. A skilled luthier can help re-route the cavity for an original Edge or a Lo Pro Edge.

[waylay00]

Originally Posted by Chuck

The pickups have already been modded once to this brand called Kent Armstrong, while the pickups are good, they are not as high-gain as I like. Short of getting active pickups, what are the two clearest, high gain humbuckers I can get?

I just thought I'd let you know that EVH used very low output humbuckers. In fact, a lot of those shredders didn't use extremely high output humbuckers. If you want clear, warm, harmonically-rich, sustaining tones, you need to get at the most a medium humbucker. I would stay away from the extremely hot ones.

Take this from someone who owns an RG550 with an X2N (the highest output passive pickup Dimarzio makes)

For your needs, I'd recommend that you look at the Seymour Duncan JB, the DiMarzio PAF Pro, the Dimarzio Air Norton, or the Dimarzio Air Zone.

But as someone else said, it all depends on the amp. If you're only playing through a little solid state amp, a pickup change won't yield that big of a difference.

[Chuck]

I'm playing (my main rig) through a Marshall Vintage Modern combo. Great thing.

[Jeremiah]

"If possible, I want to get a high-pass filter, though it's not really big on my list of stuff to do."

i understand that joe apparently does this but..it cuts out low end right??? why would anyone ever want this?...ever...am i misunderstanding what it does?

[Chuck]

It doesn't as much "cut out lows" as it maintains highs. A problem I really get annoyed by is losing quality of tone when I turn down my volume. With a high pass filter, that doesn't happen.